Building the First Industrial Empire in Another World

Ernest and Hollen hopped on the carriage and were now heading back to Helmarte Soap Works.

Ernest was in deep thought at the moment, thinking of the time about replacing the waterwheel with a steam engine. With the current industry of this world, it’s possible to make one.

He looked at Hollen, who was a forge owner. Then thought again, what are the materials needed to make a steam engine that would power a factory?

His target design is 50 horsepower.

Actually, fifty horsepower was ambitious. Very ambitious.

The current waterwheel only produced around six horsepower.

A fifty-horsepower steam engine would produce over eight times more power.

Enough to run the current factory.

Enough to support future expansion.

Enough to power machinery that didn’t even exist yet.

His mind immediately began creating a list.

First, iron.

A lot of iron.

The boiler alone would require several tons.

Then the cylinder.

The piston.

The connecting rod.

The crankshaft.

The flywheel.

The valves.

The steam pipes.

Almost every major component required iron.

Fortunately, iron wasn’t the problem.

Belfast had iron mines, foundries, blacksmiths, and metalworkers.

The kingdom already possessed the raw materials.

The challenge was transforming them into precision components.

Then came timber.

Actually, many people imagined steam engines as entirely metal.

They weren’t.

Large portions of early industrial machinery used timber frames and supports.

Even factory buildings themselves relied heavily on wood.

Then came coal.

That was non-negotiable.

A steam engine consumed fuel continuously.

Unlike a waterwheel, which simply sat in a river and worked for free, a steam engine needed coal every single day.

But thanks to Eastgate, coal wasn’t a major concern.

The kingdom possessed enough reserves.

Then his thoughts shifted toward manufacturing.

And that was where the real problem appeared.

The cylinder.

Actually, everything depended on the cylinder.

The piston needed to fit reasonably well inside it.

Too loose and steam escaped.

Too tight and friction skyrocketed.

That meant boring.

Precision boring.

A capability this world barely possessed.

Ernest rubbed his chin.

He would probably need to build machine tools before building the steam engine itself.

Which was almost funny.

To build the machine that industrialized factories, he first needed machines capable of building the machine.

Industrialization really was a giant chain of dependencies.

Hollen noticed the look on his face.

"You’ve been quiet for ten minutes."

"I’m thinking."

"That usually means trouble."

Ernest chuckled.

"No, it means expenses."

"That’s worse."

The forge owner immediately regretted asking.

Ernest looked out the carriage window again.

Actually, if he wanted a proper fifty-horsepower engine, the project would likely cost more than the original Helmarte Soap Works factory.

The boiler alone would be expensive.

The machining would be expensive.

The testing would be expensive. Still, he has to take risk. Hollen is a forge owner, and he could make all the materials needed to make a steam engine.

"Hollen," Ernest called.

"What is it?"

"Do you consume hot drinks?" he asked.

"What’s with the question all of a sudden?" Hollen tilted his head to the side, confused.

"Do you notice steam coming out of your tea whenever it’s hot?"

"Of course."

"And what happens if you put a lid on the kettle?"

Hollen frowned.

"The lid rattles."

"Why?"

"Because..." Hollen paused.

Actually, he had never thought about it.

"Because the steam pushes it?"

"Exactly. The reason why I am in deep thought because I plan on using that steam to do work."

Hollen finally looked at Ernest this time. Does Ernest’s genius make him crazy at the same time?

"How are you planning on doing that?"

Actually, that was a reasonable question.

If Ernest hadn’t known about steam engines from his previous life, he probably would have thought the idea sounded ridiculous too.

"Well I plan on designing a steam engine that would convert the power of steam into mechanical power. I am going to need your help to make those materials. Since you are an owner of a forge, you can definitely help me with this."

"So long as it’s coming out of your pocket, okay," Hollen said.

"Oh come on, what if this steam machine is more effective than waterwheel? Our company is going to earn from the design."

"I understand that but at least you show me a working product..."

"In order to do that I need your help. It’s similar to how we started this company, you trusted my product and made a company out of it. Trust me on this one too," Ernest urged.

Hollen sighed. "Fine, what do you need?"

"I’m going to design one yet, so I can’t give you an answer to that question. But be prepared, because that’s going to be our side project."

The forge owner shook his head.

"Every time you say side project, it somehow turns into a company."

Ernest laughed.

Hollen wasn’t wrong.

The soap business started as a side project.

Then it became Helmarte Soap Works.

The waterwheel improvements started as a side project.

Then they increased production.

Even the expansion plan had started as a few rough notes in a notebook.

At this point, Hollen had learned to be cautious whenever Ernest called something a side project.

"So what exactly are you planning?" Hollen asked.

"A prototype."

"A small one?"

"Yes."

Ernest nodded.

"There’s no point jumping straight into fifty horsepower."

That would be reckless.

Actually, even on Earth, engineers rarely built massive machines first.

They tested concepts.

Then improved them.

Then scaled them.

"I’m thinking something around five horsepower."

Hollen looked surprised.

"Five?"

"Yes."

"Smaller than the waterwheel."

"Exactly."

The forge owner frowned.

"Wouldn’t that be pointless?"

"No."

Ernest shook his head.

"A prototype isn’t meant to replace the waterwheel. It’s meant to prove a concept."

That distinction was important.

The first engine only needed to do three things.

Generate steam.

Move a piston.

Turn a flywheel.

If it could do that reliably, then a larger engine could be built later.

The first machine would teach them more than any drawing ever could.

Where steam leaked.

Which parts failed.

How much coal was consumed.

What materials wore out.

Engineering wasn’t just mathematics.

It was experimentation.

Then another thought entered Ernest’s mind.

"Actually, before we even build the engine, we need to build something else."

Hollen immediately groaned.

"Of course we do."

"A boring machine."

"A what?"

"A machine used to bore cylinders."

The forge owner looked completely lost.

Ernest quickly explained.

"The cylinder has to be round. Otherwise the piston won’t seal properly."

That finally got Hollen’s attention.

"So the machine that builds the steam engine comes before the steam engine?"

"Exactly."

Hollen stared at him.

Then started laughing.

"That’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard all week."

"It gets worse."

"There’s more?"

"Oh yes."

Ernest smiled.

"Once we build the steam engine, it’ll help us build better machine tools."

"Which help us build better steam engines."

The forge owner pointed at him.

"See? That’s exactly what I mean. Be prepared."